Jacob & Co Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon

The Jacob & Co. X Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon started with a question – how can we reproduce the visceral sensation of the Bugatti 16 cylinder engine in a watch? The team from Jacob & Co worked on exactly that for over a year and came up with the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon!

THE CAR – BUGATTI CHIRON

To fully appreciate the watch, you have to understand what the Bugatti Chiron brings to the table. The Chiron comes with an 8.0-liter 16-cylinder beast of an engine. It uses four turbochargers to generate 1500 horsepower, and it’s top speeds have set records at 304.773 mph.

THE WATCH – BUGATTI CHIRON TOURBILLON

The Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillion is precisely what it set out to be – an engine on the wrist. The sleek lines of the Chiron are the inspiration for the black titanium case, the movement or “engine block” as Jacob & Co refer to it, replicates the Bugatti engine, and the window to the tourbillon is modeled after the iconic horseshoe grill of Bugatti hypercars.

HOW IT WORKS

When you push the right-hand crown of the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillion, the engine comes to life – the crankshaft turns, and the 16 pistons pump up and down, just like in a real internal combustion engine. Two “turbochargers” (instead of the four in the actual Chiron engine) on the side of the engine block spin while the engine runs, adding to the visual impact. The flying tourbillon hangs as if suspended in the air, with only four “automobile shocks” holding it in place, visible from all angles through the sapphire crystal top and sides.

There are two separate power reserves, one for the animation and one for the timekeeping. Both are wound by the same middle crown just clockwise for the movement and counterclockwise for the animation. The left crown sets the time.

This Jacob & Co is truly an engine on the wrist!

The crankshaft driving the animation is one of the smallest and most complicated watch parts ever manufactured, made out of one solid steel piece.